//------------------------------// // Chapter 4: Noble blood // Story: King of the North // by Sanguine Eyes //------------------------------// "Well that explains it..." The Skull stared up through the rank and file his clan wolves, his heavy oathsworn, their shield maidens, and finally the small line of curse blood spears at the front. He had not been ready for this, and his forces certainly weren't. A massive tail swept through the formation, the cursed blood did not survive, the rest either leaped from the spot or tried to endure the massive sweep attack. The Oathsworn, clad in incredibly heavy armor plating mostly were tossed about but one such unlucky wolf lunged forward and plunged his spear into the oncoming tail. Holding tightly he rode the writhing creature until he took a quick trip with a very sudden stop into the cliff face just a few feet behind the Skull who grumbled and issued the orders to reform ranks and form a halberd phalanx "Send in the cursed blood! Go for the legs, flank the buggers!" The fully adult alpha bull Kaar roared in the mouth of the massive cave flanked by the other four alpha bull Kaar. This was completely unheard of, especially for the Kaar. The Kaar came together in groups of around ten but generally stayed far away from the adult males. Once the male attained full growth and bull status it would fight for territory until it became alpha of that territory and would only venture out to mate with all the females without a wide swath of his exterior territory. Two alphas would fight to the death the moment they could smell one another. But here they had something keeping not two but five of adult alphas from tearing each other to pieces. The only thing that made sense was outside interference. Which of course explained the extremely powerful magical power felt from within the cave guarded by these monstrous beasts. The massive dragon firmly swatted the ranks of Cursed blood who charged mindlessly at the massive dragon smashing them to nothing. Just as quickly however, a shape darted from the shadows and plunged it's axes in deep before those who were present realized that the Kuninkaan Viha had just pounced onto one of the alphas and instantly started to tear out its eyes with his bare claws. Bringing his axe to bear, the Skull began his charge followed by his oath sworn, quickly taking note of Viha's Kaas warriors following him and swarming the Kaar like ants tearing apart something much larger than themselves. Only exponentially louder and bloodier. As the Kaas attacked the alphas from the right side of the cave, the Skull lead his oath sworn from the left as the phalanx pushed up the center of the cave contending with the center alpha. As his axe weaved to and fro cleaving pale flesh until the pale skin and the ground itself was nothing but a crimson mess, the Skull could hear a greater commotion and let out a groan. The roars of the cursed blood and house Lempo grew closer rapidly. He knew full well that the king wanted them to do this together, he had ordered ALL the generals to gather for the war effort while he personally attended the missions in Equestria. The Skull really did not like Dagfinn, but Vihas utterly loathed the Cursed blood general. The presence of both was going to complicate things. As if the Gods heard his thoughts and decided to make matters worse he heard the first alpha go down and the next alpha lose its tail to the swarming Kaas berserkers. He barely spotted the Viha coated ears to tail with Kaar blood leaping from the dying alpha to join his warriors on the next. But whether it was reflex or just luck, the Alpha Kaar swatted him through the trees and quickly into the ground before the oncoming banners of house Lempo. Cursing loudly the Skull directed his men to press the Alphas as he quickly retreated after his brother, but it was far too late. Bathed in blood that matted his fur a soaked hand of the Viha grasped the handle of his axe and his pupils dilated. His wrathful mind set only upon dismembering whatever he came across, wrenching his dislocated shoulder back into place his twitching eyes darted back at the sound of marching. He beheld the house Lempo banners, the scared cursed blood, then finally, Dagfinn the Guardian. Seeing the seething bloodlust in the eyes of the Viha, Dagfinn gestured and his veterans and officers pushed to the front and formed a shield wall as he approached himself keeping his hands off his blade. "It's been a while." He carefully stepped forward holding his hands out as if to try and calm the seething wrath. "I am here for the same reason as you... our oaths to the Susien Kuningas and the north called us here. Are you going to follow your oath or succumb to wrath?" He stood bearing and watching the twitching before finally reaching for his shield but not his sword as the feral general circled him. He was far beyond talk, but the Guardian had to try, they were comrades and sworn by blood and honor to fight for the same cause and to defend the North against all enemies. Though all that was left of the Viha's mind at the moment was that same image of that night that Dagfinn became the Guardian Lord of house Lempo , the small cursed blood smiling up at the king as he lay in the puddle of blood barely able to move from the deep cauterized claw marks in his back. The blood he lay in was not his own, rather the blood of one he knew all too well. The Viha lunged forward savagely but was tackled by Skull and just as quickly Skull was thrown off with a long slice into the thick bone mask adding a long vertical scar to the traditional armor piece. Toppling and rolling back to his feet his open and ready claws only just barely missed his brother's tail and leg trying desperately to stop him from attacking Dagfinn. He could see the duel axes clash against the kite shield. Sparks flew and dragon blood trailed from his weapons as his brother clashed with the Guardian Lord. Gritting his teeth, the Skull stood to his full height and hefted his axe. His lips parted in prayer, not to the king of wolves, but older. "Tor give me strength, Tiuz give me bravery, Othin make my hands swift, by the blood of our fathers, stay our blades." He breathed deep and threw himself into the fray to subdue his brother. Rarity yawned loudly and Applejack chuckled. "Yeah... me too." Rarity raised a luscious eyebrow and Applejack chuckled. "We all love Pinkie, we all love her parties, but there is such thing as too much, and while we all have our own thing we do, it wouldn't hurt her to slow down a touch." Rarity nodded trying not to slump."Oh indeed darling... Twilight with her studies and preparation, Fluttershy with her animals we all do our things but sometimes I wish I could just tell Pin-" A loud crackling burst interrupted her and three figures landed in front of her. Rather, two figures landed as a hefty muscle bound arm shot out and grasped Shining Armor's tail snatching him out of the air to prevent him from face planting into the ground. "Are you well prince?" The massive wolf gently swung Shining into position and let him go so he landed on all four hooves. "Um..y..yes... I'm... I was just not ready for that at all." He cleared his throat and gave a short hoof wave to Rarity and Applejack. "Hello, don't mind us, I'm just taking the king here to see Twily..." He cleared his throat still trying to shake off the shock. The three made their way along slower than the two Susi would have liked but their guide was still shaky on his hooves. The two mares on the other hoof could not stop staring. Completely unable to decide exactly what they should do or say. They simply stood and stared at the small group moving up towards the castle. A furry set of knuckles rapped on the door calmly. It was late but not too late. At least according to Susi standards. The door opened and a small purple dragon stared at an odd sight for him. Legs, legs right where a normal pony's face would be his eyes traced up and he went pale seeing what he could only think was some sort of monster Diamond Dog. But just as quickly Shining Armor poked in. "I am sorry Spike, we did not plan on coming this late, but is Twilight home?... This is the King of the north and his.... um... Shaman..." Just as quickly Twilight came to the door wide eyed and with a bright excited smile. "OH!!.. I did not expect to see you so soon." Twilight put on a slightly awkward smile before opening the door widely. She had only just magically sent the needed messages to the North and she honestly expected a response in a few months. She squirmed a little unsure of herself, but the King's clam smile reassured her a bit. " your majesty, I hope the... ah.. trip was pleasant. Honestly I would have cleaned up a little more if I knew you would be here so fast." He waved a hand calmly. "It is fine Princess. It may be odd, but I do not enjoy special treatment. I only desire to be treated just as any being who you would come to know." He smile warmly and she smiled back a bit less awkwardly this time. "Oh.. I ...I can do that... please call me Twilight then. I'm not much one for titles and such..." She rubbed the back of her head nervously as they all stepped in. Spike nervously stepped back and retreated to another room as the King of wolves glanced about taking in the lack of servants or guards. "And neither am I Twilight... though for me just call me Susien..." "Susien?" She stopped and thought back on the load of books she had just nearly read herself to sleep with. "That just means wolf right?" "No.. it means Wolves....it is a part of the title." She shaman's words were almost sharp, not aggressive but almost as if he was annoyed, or just naturally sounded a tad abrasive. "OH! like Susien Kuningas, the name of your ancestor! The one who fought and killed the Tyrant Fennir." Twilight had thought of trying to redecorate or put something culturally significant up, but she didn't have the chance. The Shaman gave an odd look and glanced back and forth between Twilight and the king of the north before the king chuckled and spoke. "...Yes... something like that...." He nodded to the Shaman and the Shaman gave a quick nod back before stepping into the King's shadow instantly vanishing. Twilight gawked at first but the king's happy relaxed smile just told her everything was fine. She had read what the magics of the north did and their roles in their society. Quickly picking out the Shaman as a shaman and not one of the other two categories she knew that his magic was mostly combat related and he was likely one of the King's guards in such a situation. His position would be to leap out and save the king if there was any form of trouble. So naturally he would be hiding like that, but she was very confused where his personal guards were. The black furred wolves, dark seers, she forgot the exact name. But from what she could read, they were supposed to be other worldly in power and always within ten paces of the king. Shining yawned and just laid down on one of the couches. He was more than just tired. Content in letting his sister take it from there he would get some rest and resume his duties in the morning, he had spent enough time with the wolf to be confident that he wouldn't hurt anypony. "So then, I do hope that I can meet with the other leaders of this nation. I did kind of drop in without much warning, I have succeeded in securing trade and comradery between the north and the Crystal empire. I am eager to meet with all the leaders of this nation, but to my understanding you are one of these rare leaders. Equestria must be quite blessed to have so many powerful monarchs." Twilight blushed and waved off the compliment sheepishly. "Oh its not that big of a deal... Mostly I just smile and wave." She choked a little feeling his gaze on her and the way she had just painted herself to him. Clearing her throat she started again. "I more or less am still in learning but I have saved Equestria with my friends a few times. We keep busy and do as best as we can." "Oh yes, I noticed. We have been eager to set foot here for a while. I came close to issuing the order to send in some forces to help with some of Equestria's problems, like with your fight with Tyrek, but the Oracles foretold that Harmony had a different plan. We would stay our hand and Equestria would save itself. This nation has grown so powerful... I am quite pleased and I do hope we can be a powerful ally in both trade and cultural exchange." He smile gesturing with his hand to Twilight. "I hope so too, its still quite late but I can talk, and you have a few hours before it's day again, we can chat and Spike can show you to a room so you can sleep before we go to meet Celestia in the morning." "Indeed that is a wonderful plan though I do have a request or two, do you have a balcony? It has been long since I have seen the moon and desire to lay eyes upon it. It makes a wonderful setting for conversation with friends." Twilight happily nodded and gestured for him to follow as she lead him deeper into the castle. Pinkie happily hummed as she wiped down the tables and put the cupcakes back into the fridge. It had been hours since the party ended and honestly she felt quite tired. But never the less a bright smile spread across her. She had heard something about strangers in ponyville and was still deciding whether these cupcakes would be ok for their welcome to Ponyville party. She hummed in thought before deciding she could easily bake more. Better have fresh cupcakes than some left over from another party. It would just be rude otherwise, plus she had to try out a new blue frosting. Reaching up and rubbing her eyes she stifled a powerful yawn but suddenly froze. Her tail twitched and wiggled, her neck itched and her knees gave a soft ache. Somepony was watching her. Turning gracefully about she breathed in deep feeling the air about her. No further itches, twitches or anything resounded within her. Whatever it was, she was in no danger. The presence she could feel even gave off a playful aura. "Nopony can hide from Pinkie Pie!!" Pinkie leaped right where her feeling was the strongest and oddly made contact with something she clearly didn't see. It was like the air within the space she just collided with held something she simply could not see. But this quickly wore off as she bowled it over and found herself sitting over a little furry creature about the same size as her. The pup looked up at her with wide almost fearful eyes. "I... I wasn't planning anything... I was just trying to find my friend... have... have you see a really pretty wolf with white fur around here?" She flailed about and held up her hands as if expecting some level of punishment. Pinkie stared, still not quite sure what was going on, but she let her feelings guide her. "Well... um.. no I haven't but.. if you came to find a friend then you came to the right place... WELCOME TO PONYVILLE!!!!" Whipping about Pinkie dropped some balloons and a cupcake into her waiting claws. "Uh.. um.... ok...." She nearly squeaked out the words "... What is this?" She held out the cupcake, the balloons did not interest her so much. But the cupcake was all sorts of bright, vivid, and very solid colors. She had seen balloons before but this thing was completely alien to her. "Its a cupcake silly... wait... WAIT.... you have not had cupcakes before?" Pinkie seemed mortified but quickly recovered. "It's.. it's a cupcake.. its food, the best kind of food. Eat it. You wont regret it ever!!! You can trust me, I am Pinkie Pie, and Pinkie Pie does not lie!" The last string of words came out in a nearly crazed proclamation. The young pup nodded slowly, despite the normal reaction to Pinkie's forwardness being trying to get some distance from her until the initial shock wore off the pup seemed ok with it, even happy to see such a positive attitude. "Good, I am Rosie.... and I don't lie either, Susi are not supposed to lie. It is a sin against the King's will and dishonorable..." She smiled puffing her chest out proudly reciting that part of the Susi's warriors customs. "Coool.... what's a suzy? Oh!... I have given you the treat of my peoples take it... love it... eat it! And then we can try your stuff!" Pinkie flailed about playfully and Rosie watched closely. Awkwardly smiling, Rosie eyeballed the small frosted cupcake. Leaning in she sniffed at it rather surprised and encouraged at the scent she leaned forward and nibbled off the side. Just outside Berry Punch slowly stumbled her way home, she was supposed to be home about an hour ago, but this was more than good enough for her. Slowly and surely, one hoof in front of another, she happily hummed until what almost felt like a shockwave hit her. She fumbled and plopped face first into the ground at the borderline scream she heard coming from sugar cube corner. "CUPCAKES! WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN ALL MY LIFE!!!!!" Cadence calmly nuzzled into her pillow. She was at peace, a wonderful day with a new friend. Oracle took the room just down one floor, she was so refreshed and very happy. The closest thing they had in the north to a spa was their saunas which had no one to as she said with glee "pamper" them. The white wolfess was so happy at the end of the day, Cadence almost had trouble convincing her that at some point ponies needed to sleep. The future looked promising for the north and the Crystal empire. With a belly full of delicacies and a royal bed the princess of love floated towards the very fringes of sleep when something tickled her senses, as if she was being pulled deeper into sleep with something whispering sweet nothings into her ear. Something powerful, but not dangerous, like the first time she had heard thunder, or the ocean waves. Something natural but so very powerful. The whispers like the deep peaceful breath of a sleeping beast, the whispers fluttered at her as if begging to be understood, the potential of danger, greatness, beauty, it was all there. But just barely beyond her ability to understand. But suddenly, it was there. She could see Shining staring in disbelief, the king and his smile, his calm smile despite the blood spattered over his face. A sudden surge of fear shot through her, the burning wrath of Celestia washed over the room like a storm of fire. Pain, fear, regret, sorrow boiled within the heart of Twilight and it reflected on her face. Singing blades marched into Equestria and the balance of everything stood teetering one way and the other. A long, uncertain, and treacherous road to a great future, or the safe known path that lead them all directly in the ocean of blood. "The future is never set in stone, but it can be very clear, or very muddled. The path you choose rarely changes the destination, but sometimes you can walk that path, and end at the end of cold steel, or with the warmth of love and kinship within your heart." Cadance's eyes shot open and gasping, she sat up. Her heart thundering in her chest, she shivered sweeping for magic that would have put the images in her head, or perhaps the voice that spoke to her. But not even a single whisper sounded. Even as she made her way into the hall, looking into the darkness, she saw only the guards. Though they were quite surprised to see her up and about, they said nothing. She sighed and turned back to bed before she caught the faintest sound, something that made her eyes tense and water. Slowly she followed the sound until she got to the balcony overlooking the campsite the king's guard had set up. The black wolves were standing, eyes closed and noses to the air. The noise was coming from them. A soft mournful song. Even late at night, a few ponies had stopped on their way past and stared, shivering and turning to confused tears as the soft foreign words escaped their maws in a sorrowful song. "The winds of fate spoke to them, I felt it as well. Something is happening..." Cadence didn't have to turn around to see the Oracle. "I just..." Cadence bit her lip trying to figure it out for herself. "You have powerful magic, things you might be blind to can still be sensed, especially when it is in abundance around you. Oracles and Seers, we feel the winds of fate as clearly as if it was a raging river flowing through us. That very same river becomes easier to feel when we are present." She sat on the edge of the balcony, what Cadence had confused for painted runes over the Oracle's limbs glowed softly with a pure beautiful cyan blue. "We don't know exactly what will happen, but something has us up..."